Word: social
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Still to come this season are two formidable challenges for the Guthrie and its audience alike. One is Rumanian Director Lucian Pintilie's harrowing vision of Ibsen's The Wild Duck, stressing its social-class conflicts, first seen at Arena Stage in 1986. The other is the U.S. premiere of Pravda, a 1985 London hit about the takeover and corruption of serious news media by a tycoon whom critics likened to Rupert Murdoch. Wright is looking forward to them confidently. "Thanks to the long and rarefied history of the repertory at this theater," he says, "the audience is much better...
Most voters are happy to salute the flag, aren't in prison, aren't members of the unpopular minorities the A.C.L.U. looks out for, aren't the social losers for whom Bush's fantasy liberals are plotting expensive new Government programs. You can always evoke the emotions of normal people against the great "other" and call it patriotism. Politicians in many countries have used this technique successfully. But American patriotism is supposed to be inclusive and tolerant, not exclusive and invidious...
...Chinese, the promise of Deng Xiaoping's far-reaching reforms has often meant unexpected social strains. They range from huge student demonstrations for more political freedom to cases of spectacular corruption and a tolerance for economic inequality. But few have been as deeply unsettling as a new aura of sexual permissiveness that has sprung up with the reforms. For years officials in Beijing tried to ward off the threat by warning unwary citizens about the evils of sex. Their efforts were ignored. These days the government permits public lectures and seminars for government workers on such previously forbidden subjects...
While the rising incidence of divorce and the emergence of the di san zhe, or romantic triangle, are viewed by most mainlanders as serious threats to the sanctity of the Chinese family, some Chinese social scientists regard them as largely positive. Citing statistics that show a doubling of the divorce rate in Beijing during a five-year period, Dr. Wu observes that they are a "reflection of women being less tied down by traditional mores and more open about their relationships." Unfortunately, the government's attitude has not evolved at a similar pace. The state no longer weighs down adulterers...
China' s reforms have caused unexpected social strains, but few have been as unsettling as the new aura of sexual permissiveness...